Contact

mlle. Sarah Kissell
Graphic Designer | Francophile
email: sarah@puremagenta.com
phone: +01 (612) 202-6091



Pure Magenta is Sarah Kissell, a graphic designer and recent graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art + Design.

Part I: On Brand Degradation

In part of an ongoing extension to Pure Magenta, Access/Excess addresses luxury brand degradation and its multi-identity crisis, a recent sprawl in the industry where fashion labels have expanded their empire by creating multiple extension brands at a cheaper price in order to become more accessible. Simultaneously, as these brands "degrade," the logo or name becomes more prominent than the actual product — appearing excessively and redundantly over disposable items, and often at sacrifice to the labels history or heritage.

In response, Pure Magenta has created its own extension brand: "PM Pink for PURE by Pure for Pure Magenta, in collaboration with Erin Smith for Sarah Kissell by Pure Magenta" in the form of pink resin stud pins — the logo of Pure Magenta — seen virally yet intimately 'pinned' to this concept.









Part II: Expanding the Empire

The second part of this project is to expand the Pure Magenta brand into an empire across the United States as well as the world. Selected participants have been sent a package containing the Pure Magenta stud pin and at random, a disposable camera, having each person interpret the Access/Excess idea as their own extension brand or partnership with Pure Magenta.

If you are interested in participating, please send me an email with your mailing address. Participants are encouraged to address this topic in any medium or method desired. All entries will be highlighted on this website or featured on my flickr page.



















Diana Chao for Pure Magenta
Zhuantang, Hangzhou China





Katelyn Reece Farstad for Pure Magenta
Berlin, Germany











Celeste Prevost for Pure Magenta
Denver, CO — North Plains, NE









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J-Shaped Body Bag

A celebration of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' birth as an icon through the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Still Remains examines the iconography of November 22nd, 1963 through the cycle of life/death/birth — preserving the moment when Jackie and her pink suit 'shaped the shift' in definitive American, gender and fashion culture.

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In producing and curating this multi-disciplinary project, my objective is to serve as a contemporary voice to our nations ongoing struggle of a national identity. Furthermore, this body bag is meant to serve as a symbol of cultural preservation; to represent the First Lady's heroic instincts and to act as a continuation of the her signature fashion incarnations and intangible legacy.











Additional Information

Size: 27" x 72"
Materials: Hand dyed wool bouclé, cyanotype silk, hand dyed silk straps, gocco printed satin taping, resin cast buttons and wool lettering.
Thanks to Annie Larson for bringing the bag to life.



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Catalog

A celebration of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' birth as an icon through the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Still Remains examines the iconography of November 22nd, 1963 through the cycle of life/death/birth — preserving the moment when Jackie and her pink suit 'shaped the shift' in definitive American, gender and fashion culture.

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The interior and exterior design decisions of this large-format catalog are based upon a formal and contextual inversion of the body bag. More specifically, my intentions were captured throughout the pacing of the book; first providing a historical background, then through the documentation of "Shaping the Shift" where we see Jackie's immediate influence on culture through 1962-1964, and to conclude, a transition into contemporary fashion essays, theories, symbolic metaphors, and side-by-side positioned photographs.


























Additional Information

Format: 11.75" x 17.75", 119 pages. Series 1 of 1.
Materials: cyanotype silk cover, hand sewn binding, handset gold taping.



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Exhibition

A celebration of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' birth as an icon through the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Still Remains examines the iconography of November 22nd, 1963 through the cycle of life/death/birth — preserving the moment when Jackie and her pink suit 'shaped the shift' in definitive American, gender and fashion culture.

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This exhibition is an extension and conclusion to Still Remains, my senior thesis project at the Minneapolis College of Art + Design. The architecture of this installation was again, an inverted response to the chapter progression of the catalog — each end referencing the prologue and epilogue of a book — symbolizing "life" and "death," while the body bag represents "birth," as well as the "Shaping the Shift" chapter of the catalog.


















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Systems/Poster

A systematic dissection of Edith Beale or "Little Edie's" signature and revolutionary costumes from the 1976 cult film documentary, Grey Gardens. The film depicts a fascinating relationship between a mother and daughter; former debutantes and relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, living in their once was, but now condemned East Hampton Estate. What's interesting about this film is the sense of time standing still; the depiction of Little Edie's relationship to her most prized garments, rotating and interchanging between scenes.

This poster documents those relationships, showcasing her top ten most reoccurring costumes. Each costume is represented through its number of occurrences, number of frames and total screen time; each sized proportionately in relationship to one another, as well as the entire film. For example, the brooch is the top occurring item, with 25 appearances, totaling 089618 frames, or 67% of the film. This information is complimented formally with graphic and typographic expressions of this same idea — using 3-dimensionality to build layers creating a sense of depth.















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Exhibition Catalog

An investigation into the black market phenomenon and domestic explosion of "purse parties." Curated and designed for a gallery exhibition, Faux Real catalogs our status-envy culture exhibited through conceptual dualities of the interior/exterior and the high/low aspects of luxury/counterfeit culture.

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The catalog is narrated by three essays (The Material Fictions of Desire, The Synthetic Ideal, and The Habitus of Elizabeth Hurley: Celebrity, Fashion and Identity Branding) that are simultaneously designed to deconstruct the experience one receives when buying 'the real thing.' Separated within its corresponding essay, layers of typography, logos, and iconic imagery are overprinted onto the 'glistening' pages of designer catalog collections, fashion magazines, and luxury collateral.





































Additional Information

Format: 10" x 13", 68 pages. Series 1 of 1.
Materials: Screen printed microfiber storage bag, metallic gold leather protection case, counterfeit Louis Vuitton zipper spine, hand stitched binding, laser overprinted paper.
Collections: F 08, S/S 08 Prada, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, accessories/handbags.
Publications: Harpers Bazaar, Vogue, W, I.D.



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Embroidered Swatches

An investigation into the black market phenomenon and domestic explosion of "purse parties." Curated and designed for a gallery exhibition, Faux Real catalogs our status-envy culture exhibited through conceptual dualities of the interior/exterior and the high/low aspects of luxury/counterfeit culture.

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Deconstruction/Reconstruction: custom embroidered logo swatches of counterfeit dismembered handbags. On display, the synthetic remains of Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Coach.














Exhibition Poster Series, Ticket & Invitation

The continuing design element seen throughout this exhibition collateral is the 'overprinting' of counterfeit materials onto luxury brand identity. For example, the idea of designer labels breeding — or 'brand blending' — creating their own illegal, corruptive mega-brand such as the "Muinel" (Mui Mui + Chanel, seen below), or more infamously, the "Goacci" (Coach + Gucci). The ticket references this same idea, while the invitation takes on the role of a receipt; one side housing the location and ticket pricing, with the other side containing the exhibition description and website.














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www.urbanoutfitters.com

Homepage gateways, buttons and banners designed while interning at Urban Outfitters. Images below seen live via urbanoutfitters.com Summer/Fall 2008. Under direction of Bill Zimmer and Dmitri Siegel.














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Identity System & Process Book

This is a proposed identity redesign for Extreme Noise, a Minneapolis-based, all volunteer, regionally recognized punk rock establishment specializing in selling records, tapes, cd's, t-shirts, spikes and studs, hair dye, books and 'zines.

My intention is to create a visual vocabulary and graphic system representational of a contemporary punk rock store — revisiting and remixing the essentials, while celebrating the material aesthetics, cultural spirit, and transgressional history of the 1970s/80s movement.















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Pattern & Application

Negative/Positive was designed as an uplifting contribution to a dear friend of mine after the abrupt loss of her boyfriend. This pattern was visualized off a questionnaire underlying the interactions she had with him "morning, noon, and night." My goal was to communicate positive energy; spatially through the abrupt, yet intimate integrations of form, and thematically, to transform a dark experience into a bright and dynamic memory.










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Typeface & Poster

Pearl Necklace is a hand drawn typeface designed thematically and characteristically off the elements of sperm. Distinguished by its organic shape and line weight, inconsistent size and placement, and 'authenticity,' this tongue-in-cheek typeface embraces the perverse while celebrates individuality— for no one letter is quite the same...












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Ongoing/In-Progress

Back to Basics: A study of the body, form, space and composition.

Art Direction: Sarah Kissell
Photographer: Patrick Kelley








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